Country Life Interests

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20464, 2 April 1938, Page 18 (Supplement)

Country Life Interests

A pm* <l**ete<l to lh* totorert* *f lb* Country Women of tt* Wilke to. end tn partlculir to *d»inolng end reoordln* the eeUvitlee of thoee two great national organliatlona. the Women'* InetUute* end the Women'* Dlvisloa of the Fenner*’ Union. FARM HOUSES OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA A SENSE OP BEAUTY PICTURE OF TRANQUILITY AND HAPPINESS CZECHOSLOVAKIA is a country in which agriculture play* a very important part in the national economy. . . , rnm like every other Slavonic country, Czechoslovakia developed from the patriarchal system. This applies equally to all its provinces. Bohemia. Moravia. Silesia. Slovakia, and Carpathian Ruthenia. A family would settle on a sector of land, and as their sons and daughters grew up and married they would all work together, gradually expanding then property, bul still keeping it as a unit, and not splitting It up Into several farms. ‘ The wild forests were cleared, marshes were drained and by primitive HOage the soil was made fertile enough to support the (SHUT* clan. The hunting of wild animals and Ashing provided a neceasar. addition to the larder. . , . ,_ . ... It was not until the thirteenth century that certain parts of Bohemia were ' colonised," largely through the efforts of the Bohemian kings. In the frontier zones particularly, independent farms were allotted to set tiers who were granted numerous privileges, and towns were founded. The patriarchal system was characterised by a typical style of structure and ornamentation of the dwellings The family-, working together utilised their past experience in the erection of new buildings. In ‘ way whole districts acquired a speciAc character in architecture, as well as in their interior decoration. . . f Housing design had. of course, to correspond to the character of agricultural work, and to be adapted to climatic conditions For in stance. South Bohemia built low. single-storey houses with PlentyO* space. Entrance to the yard was through a wide gateway, spacious enough to allow the passage of the big harvest waggons loaded wit corn. In the mountain districts, the houses had to be bu lt with high roofs, slanting steeply, so that they should not be damaged by the heavy fBIIS In f the*broad plains of Slovakia, where the large landed estates attained great dimensions, the population of the villages were grouped - gether In small low houses, of the peasant type. A farming middle °as did not develop in Slovakia until the Czechoslovak Republic came into b»lng and carried through a land reform scheme which reduced the size of the big estates in favour of the small farmers. The Slovak villages are in consequence very densely populated, but, m contrast to those of Bohemia and Moravia, are fairly far apart. „ Carpathian Ruthenia has much the same conditions of settlement as Slovakia, except that the vast tracts of forest and mountain land prevent the cultivation of enough soil to provide the population with a living. The Carpathian Ruthenian farmer must therefore, even to-day, support his family by work In the forests, while his wife and children cultivate *ln every district the structure of the Czechoslovakian villages displays a sense of beauty. The gables, the entrance gateways, and the spaces round the windows are, as a rule, decorated toy carving, masonry work and paintings. The houses are generally white, and once a year, usual!'* just before the Easter holidays, they are white-washed and painted afresh. The Slovaks especially show great character and taste In thetr decoration, while in the more highly developed districts of 'Bohemia and Moravia one finds simple, modernistic designs in village architecture. Home culture also finds expression In the interior decoration and is often highly characteristic. To-day the younger generation of farmers devote much attention and care to maintaining the old and practical style of their houses. The entrance to the home used always to be decorated. First one enters a spacious porch, which in summer serves as a kitchen. On either side of this hall are the living rooms. The farmer and his family live on one side, and the grandparents on the other, if they are alive and still have their dowry share in the farm. If they arc no longer living these rooms are kept in reserve until the farmer can pass on the land to his son. This tradition has kept the system of land inheritance In Czechoslovakia through many centuries. The Interior decoration of the rooms is still simple. Every year the house is whitewashed within. This is the women’s work, and they regard the whitewashing as part of their domestic programme. In some districts, especially in Moravia and Slovakia, the living rooms are hand painted. For this purpose national patterns are employed, in which bright colours predominate. The Czechoslovak village, set among the green of trees and bushes, is a very beautiful sight. Red roofs and shingled roofs overgrown with moss, and the bright white walls of the cottages, present a picture of tranquility and happiness that, despite the very modest conditions in which the people live, has always been a true picture of Czechoslovakian farm life.—By Mrs A. Mrskosova in the Country woman.